This invention relates generally to vibration devices and, more particularly, to a vibrating device specifically configured for use in comforting an infant or toddler to the point of encouraging the infant to fall asleep.
Parents, grandparents, babysitters, or other caregivers have all tried various methods to help an infant get to sleep for a nap or for the night. Such methods may include rocking the baby in a chair, carrying the baby around the house, singing, or even going for a drive. In the end, however, the most frequently used method includes some form of gently patting the baby's back and/or bottom until the baby is soundly asleep. Sometimes the caregiver even continues to pat the baby's back after laying him or her down in the baby bed to verify that the baby is fast asleep.
Various devices have been proposed in the prior art to vibrate in a manner that is soothing when rested against a person's skin or pressed against a person's sore muscles. Although assumably effective for their intended purposes, the existing devices and proposals do not provide a vibratory device that can be configured to simulate the patting that a caregiver provides while helping an infant go to sleep.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have a vibratory device that is configured to assist in patting an infant's back as an assistant to a caregiver's attempt to put the baby to sleep. Further, it would be desirable to have a vibration device that may be coupled to the inside of a baby bed and positioned to automatically and safely pat a baby's back without direct supervision or involvement of a caregiver.